Rotary drier



July 29 1924. 1,503.054

W. J. KUNTZ ROTARY DRIER Filed March 6. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR %f/fuxvrz ATTORNEYS July 29. 1924. l,5 03,054

W. J. KUNTZ ROTARY DRIER Filed March 6. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WITNESSES I N V EN TOR A TTORNE YS seemed July 29, 1924.

. i 'umn; tsTArr-;fsg PATE WILII M .mecja mmm. or YORK, rENNsY vAmA, mms- 'e McGA N, ammu- COMPANY, vcomom'rrn, or YORK, .rmsvvmn `cor romx- FACTU ING rron* OF PENNSYLVANIA ROTARY DREB.

' Application filed March 6, 1923." Serial Ne. 623,273.

Ta all whom it may camera:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM JJKUNTZ, a citizen of the United States, and resident; of York, in the county of York and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Driers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates generally to driers, more particularly to improvements in driers of that type including rotating drying shells, a stationary feed head and 'scaling means arranged betweenthe'rotating drying shells and stationary'feed head, and it consists-.in the combinations, constructions and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of the invention is to provide in a drier of the' type described'an improved scaling arrangement 'between the rotating drying shells and stationary feed head, which sealing arrangement is adapted to permit limited expansion and contraction of the relatively moviug adjacentparts of the drying shells' and feed head without impairing'the efliciency of thedrier.

'A further object of the invention is to provide in a drier of the character described a scaling arrangement which is efiective to satisfactorilyclose and seal the space between the feed head and one end of the rotating drying shells without there being any necessity 'of machining the relatively moving adjacent parts of the drier in order to i-nsure a servceable fit of such relatively moving parts with one another."

'A still further object of'the invention 'is to provide in 'a drier of the character described a scaling arran'gement between the rotating drying shells and the feed head which is adapted to prevent escape of heated gases from the drier shells between the drying shells and feed'head without causing any frction between the relatively movng parts of the drier. 4

e 'A still further object'of the invention is to provide in a' drier of the* 'character descrbed a scaling 'arrangement' 'which is extremely simple in construction, applicable to driers' var'ying' considerably in the details of Construction, and economical to manufacture and thoroughly'practical commercially; v u

" Other objects' and' advantages will be ap parent fron the' following description, 0011-' sidered in c'onjunction with; the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this applcaton, 'in which- ,Figure 1 is a view showing in side'elevation a drier equipped with my improved sealing arrangement, portions of the shells of the drier being broken away and other portions being shown in section, e

Figure 2 is a relatively enlarged view, j

mainly in longitudinal vertical section and partly n side elevation 'of the feed head,

.scaling arrangefnent and fragmentary portions of the parts of the drier exhibited in F igure 1 which are associated with the feed head and scaling arrangement, p p

Figura 3 is a fragmentary sectional View showing my improved scaling arrangement interposed between adjacent parts of the outer drying shell and feed head of the drier' exhibited in the preceding views, and

Figure 4 is a section along the line 4-4 of Figure3. 4 v

'It- 's necessary in driers employng rotating 'connected together iner and' outer or concentric drying shells and a stationary feed head in communication with the spacebetween the drying shells to provide means for sealing the space between the 'rotating outer drying shell and the adjacent end of V the feed head so that the heated gasesconducted into the inner drying shell maybe drawn through the nner shell to the remote' end of the latter and then rearwardly be tween the outer drying shell and the inner drying shell to a draft creating means, such as an exhaust fan. Sealing means provided in double-shell driers prior to my invention', of which 1 am aware, are in general unsatsfactory in 'that a relatively great amount of machining of the relatively movin'g parts of the sealing'means is necessaryin order to provide ajsealing arange mentof the types employed prior to my invention which will prevent escape of gases between the adjacent ends of the feed head and outer 'drying attaining the hereinbefore 'ecited objects of the invention and for overcoming the hereinbefore described objectitmable foatresof other sealing arrangcnents with which similar drier constructions are equipped.

Referring now totle drawings, I show -in Figure 1 a drier including concontrc inner and outer drying shells 1 and 2 held in spaced connected together relation by any suitable known means (none beng shown) and being supported for rotaton.

In the enbodiment of the inventon illustrated, tires 3 encircle the outer shell 2 and are Secured to the letter. These tires rest upon hearing wheels 4, each ofwhich is rotatably supported upon a base 5. The outer shell 2 also is' provided with a concentric ring gear 6 in mesh with the drive gear or-pinion 7 which may be driven from a motor 8 or other rime mover.

A substantiallyt rum-shaped feed head 9 is associated with the flue 10 of a suitable furnace -11 and is disposed at one end of the drying unit which comprises the connected together shells 1 and 2. The feed head 9 is shown as resting up on cast iron supports 12 which surmount a base 13.

The feed head 9 is substantially annular in form and includes an inner cylindrical wall or ring 14 which is considerably larger diametrically than the furnace flue 10 and through which the latter extends, the outer end of the flue 10 or in other words the end of the flue 10 remote froni the furnace terminating within the outer shell 2 at a considerable distance from the adjacent end of the feed head 9 and short of the plane of the adjacent end of the inner shell 1. As stated, the cylindrical inner wall 14 of the feed head is considerably larger diametrically than the furnace flue 10 and an annular space is thus provided between the feed head cylinder 14 and the portion of the furnace flue extending through the feed head. A cylindrical battle or deflector ring 15 i-s supported at one end in an outwardly ofl'set or enlarged end portion 16 of the inner drying shell 1 'and extends through the feed head cylinder 14 in spaced concentric relation to the latter and also in spaced encircling relation to the furnace flue 10. The cylindrical battle 15 closely interfits the enlarged end portion 16 of the inner drying shell 1 at one end and terminates at its other or free end substantially in the plane of the end of the feed head proximate to the furnace. The cylindrical battle 15 is provided for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

The feed head 9 also includes a pair of edgewise disposed or vertical end plates 17 and 18 respectively which are mounted upon the inner cvlinder 14 of the feed head and are secure upon the latter and held in spaced parallel relation by any suitable known fastening means. An outer ring member 19 included in the feed head is supported at one end upon an inwardly extending flange 20 at the outer edge of the plate 18 and is securcd at its other end to the end plate 17 through the agency of a binding ring 21 or like socuring means. The feed head ends 17 'and 18 are substantially circular in configuration but are extended radially at the upper sides of the feed head and together with the outer ring 19 are formed at the upper side of :the feed head to define a connection 22 adapted for connection with one end of the intake tube 23 leading to the casing 24 of 'an exhaust fan which is shown as being mounted upon the furnace 11, the exhaust fan being shown as having an outlet or discharge tube 25 which may lead to any desir'able place. With the arrangement described, a substantially annular space is defined within the feed head by the inner cylindrical ring 14,

'the end p-lates 17 and 18 and the outer ring 19. An inclined feed chute 26 extends through a suitable opening in the end plabe 17 in fluid tight contact or fit with the latter and through the annular space within the feed head at one side of the inner ring 14 and terminates at its lower end in regster with an opening 27 formed through the end plate 1 8, the walls 'of the feed chute being Secured at the lower end of the latter to the walls of the opening 27 so that the feed chute is out of communication with the annular space within the feed head. The opening 27 preferably does not extend above the horizontal plane of the axis of the ring 14. A door or valve shown diagrammatically and indicated at 28 may be provided for controlling the flow of materials through the feed chute 26.

The Construction described so far may vary considerably in details from that described'since this Construction forms no part of my invention except in so far as it cooperates with the parts which will now he described. The parts which will now be described comprise a sealing mechanism arran ed between the end plate 18 of the feed head 9 and 'the adjacent end of the outer shell 2. Such sealing mechanism includes an inner sealing or supporting ring 29 arranged in concentric relation to the cylindrical battle 15 and having :n outwardly extending annular attaching flange 29' disposed flatwise against the outer face of the end plate 18 and firmly Secured to the latter in any suitable known manner, as 'by welding l/Vith this arrangement, the ring 29-29' is angular in cross sectional contour and extends in spaced concentric relation to the cylindrical baflle 15 beyond the plane of 'the adjacent end of the outer drying shell 2. A pair of annular disks 30-30 fitting snugly upon' the horizontal flange of the inner sealing ring 29 are held in'spaced parallel relation to each other through the agency of bolts 31 extending through aligned openings in the disk, spacing washers or thimbles 32 disposed on the bolts between the disks and nuts 33 screwed on the bolts until the disks are clampe'd against the ends of the spacing washers or thimbles.- An outer sealng ring 34 closely interfitting and permanently secured to the extreme end portion of the outer shell 2 has an integral inwardly extending flange 35 extending between the spaced apart disks --30 and terminating out of contact with the spacing thimbles 32. Disks 30-30 are free to move along the inner sealing ring 29 in order to provide for expansion and contraction.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. An opening 36 is formed through the upper part of the end plate 18 and establishes communication between the interior of the ring 29 and an annular space within the feed head. The space between the inner scaling ring 29 and the baffle 15 is in open communication with the annular space between the inner and outer drying shells 1 and 2 respectively. This annular space between the inner sealing ring 29 and the cyl'indrical bafiie 15 is of relatively great radial extent. The operation of the exhaust fan will thus cause a suction within the inner sealing'ring 29 and within the annular space between the inner and outer drying shells which will result in the heated gases from the furnace `flue 10 traversing the inner drying shell 1 for the entire length of the latter, the path of the i heated gases being as indicated by the arrows in F igure 1 and extending rearwardly from the end of the inner drying shell remote from the furnace through the space between the inner and outer drying shells and thence through the opening 36 to the intake pipe of the exhaust fan. The cylindrical bafile 15 serves to prevent heated gases from the furnace flue from passing directly from the outer end of the latter to the opening 36 instead of traversing the tortuous path indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1. The sealing means hereinbefore described and arranged between the end plate 18 and the outer shell 2 prevent escape of the heated gases from 'the space between the inner and outer drying shells and the end of the outer shell proximate to the furnace and cooperates with the cylindrical bafl'le 15 to cause a suction on the inner and outer drying' fiange 35 and that therefore no appreciable friction results from the operation of the sealng means and, consequently no extra burden is placed upon the driving means for the drying shell. Moreover, the relatvely moving parts of the sealing means are not likely to be worn out quickly in service. It Will' be obvious that the relatvely moving parts of the sealing arrangement and consequently the relatively movng parts of the drying shell and feed head may expand or contract within certain lim ts without in any way impairing the efiicency of thealing means or interfering with the operation of the drier as a whole.

The outer sealing ring 34 may be reinforced and extending into the rotating shell in spaced concentrc relation to the latter, an nwardly extending annular member carried by the shell in spaced concentric relation to the first ring, and im erforate annular members disposed on the first ring and extending at opposite sides of the inwardly extending nnular member beyond the inner edge of theslatter. 4 i

2. In a drier, the combination with rotatably supported connected together concentric drying shells and a stationary feed head positioned adjacent to said drying shells' at one end of the latter, said feed head having an end'wall proximate to the drying shells and lying in a plane transverse to the axial line of rotation of the shells, said end wall having an opening in line with the space between said shells, of a ring attached to the end wall outwardly of the opening in the end wall and extending into the outer drying shell in concentrc spaced relation to the latter, a second ring interfitting the adjacent end of the outer shell, said second ring having an inwardly extending annular flange, and a pair of disks onthe first ring and respectively extending outwardly beyond the inner edge of the flange on the second ring at opposite sides of the latter.

3. In a drier, the combination with rotatably supported connected together concentric and extending into the outer d'yig shell in concentric spaced relation to the letter, a second ring interfitting the adjacent end of the outer shell', said second ring having an inwardly extending annular flange, a pair of disks slidable on the first ring and respectivcly extending outwardly beyond the inner edge of the flange on the second ring1 at opposite sides of the letter, and means olding said disks in spaced &part parellel relation.

4. In a drier, asealng device comprsing an inner ring havng an attachng flange at one end thereof, an outer ring of greater diameter than the first ring and having an ini wardly extending annular flange at one end, the inner diameter of said flan e being greater than the diameter of said rst ring, and a' pair of disks adapted to be mounted upon said first ring, the outer diameter of each of said disks being greater than the inner diameter of the flange on the Second rin 5 In a drier, a scaling device comprising 'ing greater than the `inner diameter of the flange on the'econd ring, and means connectng sad dlSkS at intervals for holding 'them n's aced Parallel relation in respect to eachot er. e

6. The combination with two concentric spaced &part annular members of a pair of connected together scaling disks disposed on the inner annular member in close shdin engagement with the peripheral wall o the letter, and a co-operative annular sealing member carried by the outer annular member and extending inwardly from the latter between said first named sealin disks. i

WILLIAM JAC B KUNTZ. 

